NSW and South Australia are being warned they could face power shortages and blackouts as temperatures soar in coming days.
The warning from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), which is responsible for operating Australia's largest gas and electricity markets, comes a day after power was cut to 40,000 consumers in South Australia, where temperatures had climbed above 40C.
AEMO has alerted energy generators in NSW and SA about another expected spike in demand that could put pressure on energy supplies amid more hot temperatures on Friday and at the weekend.
It is working with market players to reduce the need for a repeat of the "load shedding" it ordered on Wednesday night, when power was cut to parts of Adelaide and some regional centres for about half an hour to stop the entire network shutting down as electricity demand surged.
"AEMO is continuing to carefully manage the power system during this period of high temperatures and high demand across Australia's eastern states," it said in a statement on Thursday.
Temperatures are forecast to be very hot across NSW from Friday, with parts of Sydney expected to see the mercury rise into the low 40s.
Temperatures in Adelaide are expected to remain in the high 30s.
Citizens took to twitter to express their anguish over hot weather and power cuts.
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